Who Won The Chase Headley Deal?

In 2012, Chase Headley had one of the finest seasons by any third baseman in Padres history. During the wonderful season he won a Gold Glove, a Silver Slugger, hit 31 homers and finished 5th in the National League MVP vote. For Padres fans, he represented a budding star, and arguably the best homegrown Padres position player since Tony Gwynn. The team seemed to believe that they had their cornerstone -- that star that they could build their team around. The team tried to extend Headley for two years, but the contractual impasse was never resolved. Yesterday, Headley was traded to the New York Yankees. 

Headley clearly isn't that superstar that fans have clamored for. However, despite his flaws, Headley is an above-average third baseman. He is better suited to be a six-hole hitter -- someone who will post slightly above-average offensive statistics, while playing fabulous defense and striking out at a prodigious rate.

A few years ago, Headley might have brought back a haul of prospects similar to what San Diego received in the Adrian Gonzalez deal. Instead, the Padres received a pitcher with promise, but questionable statistics and a penchant for falsifying his age, and a 27-year-old minor league costless agent who just joined his fourth organization since the end of 2011. So what exactly are both teams getting in this deal?

For the Yankees, they are renting Headley, since he can become a costless agent after this season. He has struggled this year, although he has picked up his production over the last few weeks. For 2014, Headley has a triple-slash line of .229/.296/.355, with seven homers. He has a career-worst 7.2% walk-rate (was 12.3% in 2012) and has dealt with an ailing back. Headley is also striking out in 24% of his at-bats, which is above his career average.

While the offensive numbers suggest that the Yankees acquired a scrub, many supporters will point to Headley's career road splits (he's a .286/.360/.444 hitter on the road) and the fact he will be playing in hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium. Leaving the expansive Petco Park should only enhance Headley's confidence and a pennant race might further motivate him to produce at a better rate in New York.

The Padres received infielder Yangervis Solarte and minor leaguer Rafael De Paula in the trade. Solarte got off to a torrid start this season, but eventually fell back to Earth. Solarte has a decent slash line of ..254/.337/.381, with six homers and 31 RBI's. While the numbers aren't too inspiring, the offensive production Solarte has produced would make him the Padres best offensive player not named Seth Smith. He is a rookie, so he will be under team control until 2020. He isn't a prospect, but he can draw walks and makes contact. The Padres may not have acquired a starter, but he can be a valuable utilityman for years to come. 

Rafael De Paula is the "prospect" in the trade. De Paula, 23, has a 4.15 ERA in 89 innings in High-A. He seems destined to pitch for the Lake Elsinore Storm in the Padres organization. Scouts love his fastball and has a promising slider. His heater consistently sits around 94-96. Fun fact: De Paula was signed by the Yankees in 2010, but didn't pitch professionally until 2012. He was also suspended for a year for falsifying his identity. For what it is worth, Mike Axisa of Yankee blog "River Ave. Blues" had De Paula as the second-best prospect in the Yankees system. 

In the end, the Padres did okay in this trade. They got a stopgap at third, who should be a nice utilityman, and a decent pitching prospect. While the Padres never fully capitalized on Headley's value, it is hard to fault the Padres for hanging onto him. Unfortunately, Headley never developed into the superstar they hoped he would. At least we will always have 2012, Chase.